


sweetening

by waterfoul



Series: Luciel [3]
Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Fluff, Implied/Referenced Sex, M/M, Sort Of, also brief mentions of a fight but only in passing, i am once again writing more indulgent stuff, like referencing sex it doesn't actually end up happening, they just make out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-17 08:00:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28970991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterfoul/pseuds/waterfoul
Summary: Aloth and the Watcher go on a date
Relationships: Aloth Corfiser/The Watcher
Series: Luciel [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945060
Kudos: 5





	sweetening

**Author's Note:**

> for context: my watcher's brother is in this. they are both estranged from their family so they haven't seen each other in years so they didn't get along the first time they saw each other in Neketaka and they ended up fighting. they're over it now.  
> also i didn't proofread it very well :3  
> also luciel is a death godlike

“You’re really spoiling me today,” Aloth said. 

Luciel’s skin warmed from his neck to the tips of his ears. It’s silly, perhaps, that he still got so miserably bashful around Aloth. Though their state of undress didn’t help. “Yes, well, I couldn’t take you to a romantic getaway at the Wild Mare,” he answered. Luciel held out his hand to help Aloth into the bath. 

Public baths had never been appetizing to Luciel. He hadn’t the appearance to frequent one. A few too many people had stared at him when they came in, but Aloth carefully kept his attention on their loose conversation about their prospective travels. And Ganor, the bathhouse owner, had been pleasant enough to placate any worries. Luciel inched closer to Aloth when a brunette woman eyed him in an odd mix of distaste and pity before turning back to her companion. Most of his worries, at least. 

Aloth found his hand under the water to hold. “This is lovely, Luciel.”

He shrugged, “Oh, yeah, I mean…” Luciel patted the water, forming little waves. “Just a bath. You enjoyed it last time when we split from everyone else.” 

“Yes, but I assumed we’d be too busy to come back.” He squeezed his hand, “I should’ve known you’d find a way.” 

“Only for you,” he said. 

Aloth moved a bit closer. “So, should I expect to see your brother tonight?”

“Romantic getaway, Corfiser. Nothing kills an amorous ambience like my brother. I asked him to cause trouble elsewhere.” He continued patting the water until Aloth touched his chin. He turned his head, confused. 

“There you are,” he said. “Your thoughts are leagues away, Luciel.”

Luciel leant into his touch. “That’s the trouble with having them at all, I suppose.” Wincing when Aloth’s thumb brushed over his lip, he canted his head. “Marius has a mean right hook, huh?”

Aloth narrowed his eyes, “Of all the foolish things you’ve done, that was the only one I really don’t understand. It’s unlike you to pick fights.”

Luciel patted his split lip with his index finger. “I still won.”

“Because he fell into the water.” And Marius took to it like a fussy cat. 

“I would’ve won anyhow,” he said, sinking down so the water came to his chin. “You know, I still feel gross from that miserable bog. I hope Sanza’s book works out.” He felt silent, thinking to himself. He’d have to drop off his notes before they left. His notes on his desk in the cabin. _His notes._ Luciel sprang up, earning him a few perturbed looks. 

Aloth gave Luciel a weary glance before leaning back against the bath wall. “Something the matter?” he said. 

“Sorry,” he answered. “I think I left my notes back on the ship. I wanted to work on them tonight.” 

“We can stop there first. It’ll be quick.” 

Luciel smiled and sank down a bit. They stayed in the water for a while longer, far past when their fingers pruned and wading had grown dull. 

The walk to the ship was short, as Aloth had said. They passed Rigerre, who was already drunk, and Eliam, who was busy making sure the former didn’t walk off the pier. 

On the way to Luciel’s apartment, they made sure to pet the dog that frequented the nearby alley and talked about Luciel’s latest notes (or, rather, Luciel went on about a furry creature that nearly bit Eder’s hand off when he tried to pet it, while Aloth listened in both slight amusement and horror). 

The apartment had been a gift, really. In exchange for helping the landlady with some freeloaders, he could have a place for himself at a reduced pay. It served its purpose as a place for him to crash and as a place for him to dump whatever trinkets and bobbles he found. 

It was simple and cosy with a large room that encompassed a kitchen and a makeshift living room. The first room, beside the washroom, he made into his bedroom. The other was a much smaller spare room. He made it into a study of sorts, with his various weapons, papers, books, and various garish vases strewn about. One vase, a horrible pink, was filled with religious trinkets just for Wael, and sat by the shrine to Hylea he carved. There was a desk opposite a small bed, currently used by Marius. 

Marius was still out, he figured, from the quiet. He barely spoke, but Gods, could Luciel never get him to stop humming.

Luciel spoke to Aloth as he took off his boots. “It’s not, um, the neatest. Haven’t really owned a place in a while. Marius is no help either.” He eyed the broom in the corner. It got more use out of filling space than collecting dust. He looked back at Aloth. Maybe he should’ve cleaned. 

He dropped his coat on the table and tapped his finger on the chair. Only two of them matched. The landlady, apparently, had a pair custom made by a relative, and the slightest hint of Luciel replacing them to have a set of four nearly sent her into a fit. So he was stuck with two Vailian cushioned chairs and the two he found similar enough when trying to fill his apartment with things.

“Corlagon should be around,” Luciel added when Aloth didn’t say anything. “Keeps bumping into things.”

“Sorry, who?”

“My cat.” 

“Of course you already have a pet.” Aloth kissed his cheek, “I am surprised it’s only the one.”

“For now,” he grinned. He squeezed his hand and leant closer. “You really do look lovely this evening,” he mumbled into Aloth’s neck as he pressed kisses to his skin. 

“As do you. I don’t think I’ve seen you wear these before,” Aloth said, touching his shirt. “It’s a little big on you.”

“Hm, it’s Marius’. Apparently he likes when things don’t fit. _And_ he thought the clothes I chose were awful and I needed to be helped. Bruised my ego a bit, but if you like them…” Aloth nodded and kissed his jaw. “They’re Vailian, but his taste could be worse.” Luciel pulled him toward the bedroom, speaking as he went. “He’s probably out drinking. You’re alright, though? You don’t want coffee?” Luciel stopped at the bed and turned to Aloth, “The woman below me, she gave me these turnover things. I might have one left, unless Marius ate it.”

“I’m alright,” he said, before kissing his chin.

“Are you sure? I could make you something else if-”

Aloth pressed his lips to his. “Watcher,” he said. 

“Yes?” He cupped his face, stroking his cheek bones with his thumbs. “Corfiser?”

“Sit with me.” Aloth’s hand dropped to his waist. “We could read together.” 

Luciel nodded. He grabbed the novel Aloth recommended he read. They sat beside each other quietly switching off every few paragraphs. 

As Luciel took his turn, Aloth guided his hand along the page as he read, then brought it up to his lips when he finished the last paragraph. He kissed the back of his hand, his fingers, and his palm. Luciel turned his head, neck and ears burning, to meet his eyes. 

“Keep reading,” Aloth said. “You’ll like the next part.”

“How can I read when you’re holding me so?”

So Aloth kissed him instead. Luciel let the book fall out of his lap and clatter on the ground when he twisted to kiss him, but he didn’t bother to pick it up. Soon they were tangled in the sheets, chests pressed against each other. Luciel propped up an elbow and angled his head so they could share another kiss. 

“You know, I...” he started.

“Yes?” Aloth answered, his voice soft. 

Luciel touched his face, running his thumb along his cheekbone. It didn’t matter that his heart palpitated at Aloth’s curious glance or at his parted lips. He responded in a whisper, “You’re so much and more to me.” Aloth averted his eyes. Damp strands of hair framed his face but did little to hide his blush. All Luciel wanted to do was kiss him again. All he could do was look at Aloth like he hung the stars just for him. 

For a moment, he didn’t answer, but Aloth soon looked up at him and kissed the corner of his mouth. “I feel the same.”

“Good,” he said. “Wonderful.”

He held onto him so they could roll over while pressing open-mouthed kisses to his face. Aloth, now seated on his lap, touched a hand to his abdomen. His palm against his bare skin burned so badly he thought it cold.

“I love you.”

Aloth peppered his face with kisses. “I love you too,” he said, breath heating Luciel’s jaw. 

Luciel reached up and brushed back damp hair that stuck to Aloth’s cheek. “As much as I enjoy our clothed rutting...” Luciel said, leaning in to kiss him again, tugging on his robe, “Off.”

“Your brother sleeps next door.”

“Don’t think he’s back yet. Even still, you could practice being quieter.”

“ _Luciel_ , I- oh, shush!”

“I mean, really, you could’ve put Kana to shame with that range of yours.”

“That is not true!”

“Iselmyer would agree with me,” Luciel countered. 

There was a moment where he didn’t respond, where Aloth’s expression twisted into a familiar smirk before reverting back into a quite annoyed frown. Aloth jabbed Luciel’s chest with a finger. “You are repugnant!”

“Come now, we traveled with repugnant people before.” Luciel pushed his bottom lip forward in a pout, “How could I possibly compare to them when I’m so sweet?” Aloth rolled his eyes. Luciel brought his arms around his middle and squeezed. “Oh, you adore me.”

“Yes,” he sighed, “I do.” Luciel let out a pleased hum. “But I don’t understand how you can act so romantically before being so crass. Hm _,_ what an actor you’d make.” He gagged and wiggled away from Aloth. “Well, you have the range for it.”

“Oh,well I hate you. You make me so angry.” Luciel moved back next to him and kissed his hairline. “But I’ll forgive you if you hold me.” Aloth wrapped his arms around him, yawning. “I was kidding, you know,” Luciel said. “Only riling you up.”

“I knew,” he answered. “I know.” Before he could continue, Aloth kissed the growths over his eyes, and in his gentleness, Luciel trembled. “It’s once again become your favorite pastime, hm?”

“Absolutely, Corfiser.” Luciel nuzzled his cheek against his and let himself sink into his hold. “Does that mean you’re not taking back that acting remark?” he mumbled drowsily. 

“I certainly won’t.”

“Cruel.” He flexed his legs and groaned, “I’m so sleepy.”

Aloth kissed his nose. “It’s quite late. I’ll stay awake with you if you wish. We could wait for Marius.”

“He doesn’t need a nanny,” Luciel sighed, “And I don’t think he wants one either. He’ll be fine.”

Aloth didn’t answer. His expression betrayed his unvoiced skepticism, but neither of them continued that thread. 

They spoke to each other for at least a half hour about their book before Aloth succumbed to sleep. Luciel, however, tilted his head and waited for the door. Late in the night, when it creaked open and soft humming could be heard from the main room, he pressed his face in Aloth’s chest and closed his eyes. 

Early in the morning, Luciel woke after Aloth. He twisted in bed and stretched his legs, kicking something at the foot of his bed. Corlagon lifted his head with a _mrrp_ so he patted the scrappy thing with his foot. With a content sigh, Luciel turned his head and saw his lover. 

“I don’t have any clean clothes here,” Aloth said, placing his clothes from the previous night in a pile with Luciel’s. “Do you mind if I borrow some of yours?”

“What’s mine is yours, and all that.” Luciel rolled onto his stomach and watched him pull open a drawer. He held his chin up with his palm. “You look adorable.”

Aloth shook his head as his response and grabbed a billowy shirt and trousers. “Thank you, I suppose,” he said. 

“I- well, I, uh…” Luciel trailed off, watching Aloth as he made his way over, shoving the shirt into his pants. “You look good. You always do, but-” Aloth bent down to kiss him. “Hm, so good. I’m feeling a bit underdressed.” Aloth nodded and kissed him again. Luciel sat up and brought his legs around to face Aloth. “Maybe you could bring some clothes next time,” he said, kissing Aloth’s hair. “To keep here.”

“That sounds nice.” Aloth trailed a finger along his jawline. Smiling, Luciel tilted his head to kiss his hand, then wrapped his arms around his waist. 

“We should probably get back to the ship soon.”

“Yes,” he said. “We should.”

But they held each other in silence for a long time. It broke, though, when Luciel pulled him down to sit on his thigh and Aloth spoke. 

“If you had… grown up differently, what would you have liked to be? I can’t imagine you thought you’d grow up to chase a reborn god.”

“No, but I did want to be a pirate captain, and here we are.” Aloth smiled into his shirt. “To be serious, though, I’ve always wanted to go into research. I’ve always dreamed about discovering some odd thing, beast or plant, even if no one knew about it except me- And I’d share it with you, of course. I’ll share everything with you. You know, once I… Once I escaped, I found libraries and universities, but I could never go in. No one wanted to teach something like me to read. Even now I don’t think I’m smart enough for something like that.”

“Oh, I disagree.”

“You have to, you’re my lover.”

“I’d disagree even if we weren’t close.” Aloth touched the buttons of his shirt, cheeks a bit pink at his title. “Once this is over, we’ll go to a library and we’ll research whatever you like. We’ll take as long as we need.” 

Luciel smiled, but it didn’t last. “I should’ve kissed you earlier. Years earlier.”

“Oh? When?”

“Caryon’s Scar. What a mess I would’ve been as a soul if I had drowned without kissing you.” Luciel sighed, “What time I wasted, hm?” He gasped, suddenly hugging Aloth tightly. “You know when I really should’ve kissed you? When we were in Copperlane and we went to see that play. You were particularly fascinated by that miserable woman who always practiced alone--”

“She wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“--but I couldn’t look away from you.”

“I would’ve missed her performance if you did.”

“Theatre,” he grumbled, “is far lesser than our kisses.”

“Oh, I don’t know. You seemed to like that drama I recommended last month.” Luciel grumbled. “Regardless, does it matter?” Aloth asked. “We have time now, together. And we will once all this is done.” When Luciel didn’t answer, he pulled back from his embrace and touched his cheek. “Luce, we’ll have time.” 

“I know. But I feel like now we have to play catch-up about our relationship, about me wanting to start research, about everything. Isn’t it wasteful that I’ve waited for so long?”

“Of course not.” Aloth consoled, smoothing down the behead that formed behind his horns. “You’re allowed to take time to do things, Luciel. There’s no rush.” Aloth paused. “Get dressed so we can spend our time together.” 

By the time they were both ready, Marius looked in, a bit worse for wear. 

He cleared his throat. “I’ll drop off your notes, but I have another errand to run. It shouldn’t take the hour. I’ll see you by the docks, yeah?” Marius watched Luciel expectantly, with a piercing gaze, downplayed by the heavy bags under his eyes. He would’ve forgotten the crystalline color of their mother’s eyes, if not for Marius’.

Luciel nodded. “Won’t leave without you.”

Marius opened his mouth, then closed it, biting something back. “Yeah,” he said, rubbing his jaw with his knuckle. “Aloth.” Aloth greeted him with an awkward smile. And he left without another word. Luciel balled his hands into fists, letting his nails dig into his palms. When the front door shut, he flexed his fingers. 

“At least you’re not hitting each other,” Aloth said. 

“We talked. Things are still… not good.” Luciel rolled his shoulders back and tilted his head up to the ceiling. “We never know what to say. We’re not exactly into the same things anymore-- or, I _think_ we aren’t. I don't even know, because _we don’t talk_.” A scowl, then: “You’re right, I guess. At least we aren’t fighting.” 

“You said he helped you with your clothes. That’s something as well.”

“That was more out of obligation, really. I was lost a- and he probably felt bad for hitting me back.” Luciel felt Aloth hold his hand. “We did talk about our parents. He was very upset about it- about all of it. We, uh… We also talked about the Dyrwood and then everything that’s happened with Eothas. He didn’t talk much about nice things. I told him a little about the crew--and you, Corfiser--but other than that… I mean, he told me he’s gotten really close to Sanza, as of late. And he hates whatever crap booze we got from those crates we found. So, I guess the only things we have in common are that we hate our parents, we like men, and--” he scoffed, “--we hate the same wine. What a bond.” 

“Sanza? You mean the cartographer that has you running around?”

Luciel nodded. “He’s quite sweet on him. Wouldn’t shut up about how Sanza had him try coffee. He thinks it’s too soon to say anything. Not sure if I can advise on something like that. I waited five years before I kissed you.” He bumped their hips. “What do you think about him?”

“It’s a bit like having a less impulsive you around,” Aloth teased. “Less impulsive and almost as hard-headed.”

Luciel knocked the growths on his face with a fist. “I don’t think heads get harder than this.” Aloth snorted and bumped their foreheads. 

**Author's Note:**

> anyone else really love Sanza??? also it took me months to write this I think I started in September god


End file.
